Southampton backed to appoint ex-Middlesbrough boss if Tonda Eckert gets big ban for Spygate | OneFootball

FLW's Southampton fan pundit wouldn't mind Rob Edwards being brought in as interim boss if Tonda Eckert is banned

Southampton's nervous wait for the FA hearing verdict on Tonda Eckert and the spygate scandal continues, with the first murmurs of a contingency plan emerging on Friday morning.

The Saints boss headed to Wembley on Thursday to hear the decision on his July misconduct charges: three counts of spying on opposition training sessions last season, including ahead of the play-off semi-final first leg against Middlesbrough.

The EFL threw Saints out of the play-offs after admitting to spying on Boro, but the saga has been the subject of an FA investigation ever since, with the decision set to be made in the coming days.

The possibility of a ban has lingered ever since Tonda Eckert was charged. Back in 2024, the Canadian women's national team head coach Bev Priestman was banned for a year after flying a drone above a rival team's training session. If FIFA's precedent is used, Southampton may find themselves looking for an interim or a new head coach altogether.

Rob Edwards considered by Southampton if Tonda Eckert is banned

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According to the Telegraph, ex-Wolves and Middlesbrough boss Rob Edwards is in the frame if Eckert is handed a lengthy ban.

Edwards has been out of work since he was unceremoniously sacked by Wolves in June; a decision he found out on social media before senior members at the club told him.

The 43-year-old has been discussed as a possible interim option for Southampton, with him being the man in the dugout while Eckert oversees the ban, if that turns out to be the decision the FA takes. The expectation would be that, when the German boss' ban is done, he'd resume his post.

Barring a disastrous spell back in the division with Luton Town in 2024/25 and a dud run as Watford boss back in 2022, Edwards' track record in the second tier reads positively, being the man to take the Hatters up a couple of years earlier and having Middlesbrough in a promotion race before he left for Wolves last season.

Southampton fan pundit backs Rob Edwards contingency plan if Tonda Eckert is handed lengthy ban

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Every Southampton fan and the higher-ups at the club are hopeful that Tonda Eckert is still allowed to coach the club after the hearing, but the longer it goes on, the more that hope is dwindling.

FLW's Saints fan pundit, Louis Harris, while not happy with the prospect of having to bring a new head coach in, is at least satisfied with the possibility that Rob Edwards could be the man to take over on an interim basis.

"Listen, I'd rather we weren't in this situation, but we need to come to the reality that this is something that could happen today, so we need to have contingencies in place," he said.

"For me, Edwards would be a very solid pair of hands. His record in the Championship is very good. Obviously he had that season with Luton after they were relegated from the Premier League, but he had promotion with Luton, and he looked like he was on course to it with Boro before he left.

"So, he knows how to win games in the Championship. He's a very likeable manager, and I'm sure the players will get along with him."

Harris feels that an interim role would benefit Edwards, too, who is once again in need of a bit of a resurgence after being the man to oversee the majority of Wolves' relegation to the Championship last season.

"If the situation was only going to be temporary, I think it's a good time for him to assert himself again to Championship or even Premier League teams that he's capable of doing this," the fan pundit continued.

"I think it was a little unfair for him to lose his job at Wolves, but they obviously wanted to go a different direction.

"So, I'm sure it would go down well with Boro fans if he was to join us...but yeah, if we need to go in that direction, I'm more than happy to look at Edwards as an option."

Rob Edwards joining Southampton would add an extra layer to Saints' matchup with Middlesbrough this season

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As Harris indicated at the end, bringing Edwards to the helm if Eckert is handed a ban would only stoke this brooding rivalry between Southampton and Middlesbrough on the back of the spygate saga in May.

While Boro have seemingly gone from strength to strength under Kim Hellberg, the way they suddenly needed a new manager after Edwards left them for Wolves left a bitter taste in fans' mouths at the time.

Last summer, Rob Edwards' stock was very low, with his tenure at Luton being the main factor behind their relegation. Indeed, the Hatters weren't on relegation form during Matt Bloomfield's time at Kenilworth Road in the 2024/25 term, but they still went down.

Middlesbrough offered Edwards a chance to improve his standing with them, as they were expecting a bit of a drop-off following the Michael Carrick era. As it happened, they enjoyed a brilliant start to the season, but the 43-year-old, in Boro's view, jumped ship at the first possible opportunity — even if it was to a club he had a close relationship with.

Those inside the Riverside haven't fully forgiven him just yet, so to see him being the man to temporarily replace Tonda Eckert would add some spice when they meet in a couple of months.